Love in the Shadow of Roboko ~ My Feelings, Left Here ~
I'm Roboko. A clumsy, slightly useless side character, madly in love with the protagonist, Takeru.
At school, Takeru is always next to his childhood friend Akane. She's energetic, cheerful, and most of all, they're perfect together. Seeing them talk makes my chest ache. But it's okay. Because I'm just a side character.
Then one day, Haruto, the super-popular and ridiculously hot guy in class, confesses his feelings to me out of nowhere! 'I've been watching you for a while, Roboko. Being with y
Love in the Shadow of Roboko ~ My Feelings, Left Here ~ - Another Prince, Quietly Approaching on Wednesday.
The classroom buzz felt louder than usual today, somehow.
Roboko sat at her desk, quietly holding her breath. Outside the window, the green of Kageyama Hills swayed in the wind. Normally it was a calming view, but today it brought her no peace at all.
(Everyone's watching.)
The girl in the seat in front of her glanced back, just for a moment. Roboko hurriedly looked away. Students passing in the hallway seemed to be whispering, too. Maybe it was just her imagination. But maybe it wasn't.
Yesterday's events wouldn't leave her mind.
Himura-kun's direct, unwavering eyes.
*"Roboko, I want you to go out with me."*
That moment when the whole classroom erupted.
*"Then I'll just steal you away from whoever it is you like."*
She fought desperately against the urge to collapse onto her desk. Her fingertips were cold. Deep in her stomach, a pain twisted tight, as if everything was clenching inward.
(I'm just a side character.)
How had things ended up like this? Someone as dazzling as Himura-kun. Of all people, why me?
She glanced toward the seat diagonally ahead of her.
Takeru-kun had his textbook open, same as always. A bit of bedhead was sticking up, just like it always had, unchanged since forever. He didn't seem to care about yesterday at all.
(What did Takeru-kun think?)
About me getting confessed to.
Did he care, even a little? Or was it, after all—
She shook her head, cutting the thought short. No. Hoping for something like that was presumptuous. I'm just a side character.
But deep in her chest, the ache throbbed sharper than it had yesterday.
The chime signaling the end of afternoon classes rang out in the distance.
Roboko stood up faster than anyone else. She shoved her notebook into her desk and fled the classroom as if escaping. The hallway noise, the voices recruiting for clubs—everything felt like it was directed at her, and it was terrifying.
She headed for the staircase leading to the rooftop.
Minakaze North High's rooftop was usually locked. But Roboko knew it was opened during this time for ventilation. She'd found her way up here once before, looking for a place to eat lunch.
She pushed open the rusted door.
The sea breeze gently brushed through her hair.
The ocean of Minakaze stretched out before her, filling her vision. The water sparkled, catching the afternoon light. There were almost no waves—so quiet it felt like time had stopped.
" Hah..."
She placed her hands on the fence and took a deep breath. The scent of the tide. The distant cry of seagulls.
No one was here.
At last, she was alone.
(Why is this happening to a side character like me?)
Haruto's face from yesterday surfaced in her mind. That challenging smile. That voice that said "steal you away."
Having someone say "I like you"—it should be a really happy thing. At least, it is in novels and manga. But she never knew it could hurt this much when it actually happened.
Because the person she liked was—
" ...Takeru-kun."
The moment she said it aloud, tears threatened to spill.
The day of their middle school graduation. She'd been locked in the gym storage shed—pitch black and terrifying. The one who reached out a hand to her then was Takeru-kun. She still remembered it clearly, his figure silhouetted against the sunset.
Ever since then, she'd only ever watched Takeru-kun.
Every time she saw him standing beside Akane-chan, her chest ached. Even so, just watching was enough. Because she knew a place like that wasn't somewhere someone like her had any right to enter.
And yet.
Haruto's words stirred up her heart.
*"I'll just steal you away."*
If someone really did steal Takeru-kun away...
Just thinking about it made her feel like her knees would give out. Her fingertips trembled. Her hands gripping the fence tightened with force.
(I don't want that.)
Deep in her heart, something was screaming.
(Takeru-kun is— mine—)
She caught herself mid-thought and looked up sharply.
No.
She was getting carried away again. Even though she was just a side character. Even though she had no right to say something like that.
She tried to tell herself that. That's when—
*Thump.*
A small sound reached her ears.
The sound of a book closing.
Roboko's heart clenched tight. Fearfully, she turned toward the source of the sound.
In the corner of the rooftop. In the shadow of the water tower, there was someone there.
He sat on the concrete floor, long legs folded up. Deep indigo hair swayed in the wind. Beneath slightly long bangs, narrow gray eyes gazed steadily at Roboko.
It was Kamiya Yukito-kun.
The library committee member from her class.
He was always reading a book in the corner of the classroom, and she'd hardly ever seen him talking to anyone. Cool, unreadable—someone you never knew what he was thinking.
" Hey."
He slowly closed the paperback in his hands. His slender fingers slipped a bookmark between the pages. The gesture was so natural, as if he'd been waiting for Roboko to arrive.
" K-Kamiya-kun..."
Her voice came out hoarse.
How long had he been there? He might have heard her talking to herself just now. Even her saying Takeru-kun's name.
She felt the blood rush to her face. Even the tips of her ears burned. What should she do—she had to run.
But her legs wouldn't move.
" No need to be so wary. I was just reading."
He stood up, hugging the paperback to his chest. He was tall. More than a head taller than her. His indigo hair swayed softly in the breeze from the sea.
" Though, I didn't expect you to come here."
"Um, I-I'll be leaving right away, so..."
"I see."
For just a moment, she thought the corner of his mouth relaxed slightly. But his expression quickly returned to neutral.
"But this works out perfectly."
He took a step closer to Roboko.
Her body stiffened unconsciously.
"Roboko."
His voice was very quiet. Quieter than the sound of the waves, quieter than the wind. And yet, strangely, it reached her ears with perfect clarity.
"I've liked you for a long time, too."
Inside her head, something shattered like glass.
What did he just say?
" ...Huh?"
The air felt thin. She couldn't breathe properly.
He just gazed at Roboko quietly. Not with hot, intense eyes like Himura-kun's. Colder, more transparent—like being stared up at from the bottom of a lake.
"Did I startle you?"
"Um, uh, well..."
"It's understandable. Himura confessed to you yesterday too, didn't he?"
He said it so casually. In a tone that treated the classroom rumors as nothing more than trivial facts.
"I don't think someone as forceful as Himura suits you."
"...Huh?"
"It's not rational, is it?"
He began speaking as if solving a math problem. Tapping his fingers lightly against the paperback in his hand.
"Minamihabara has Shiina."
Her heart jolted.
"The two of them are childhood friends, and everyone around them acknowledges it. As things stand, the probability of you ending up with Minamihabara is, statistically speaking, quite low."
"Th-that's..."
She knew. She knew that, but—
"But there's no need to give up. There is a way."
Yukito took another step closer.
"Akane and Takeru just need to start dating."
Roboko caught her breath.
"If that happens, you'll be able to sort out your own feelings. Minamihabara will become someone beyond your reach. Before you get hurt, you let go of him yourself."
His voice was utterly calm, and cold.
"I'll steer things so that happens. I'll create a path so you don't get hurt."
(What is this?)
The person in front of her suddenly seemed terrifying.
She'd seen him many times in the same class. Always reading a book in the library, sometimes laughing quietly to himself. But she'd never imagined that beneath that smile, such cold calculation was hidden.
" W-why..."
Her voice trembled.
"You don't have to do something like that, Kamiya-kun. For someone like me..."
"It's not for you. It's for me."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"I hate seeing people get hurt. Especially—"
He closed his mouth for just a moment.
"...Especially when someone like you goes unrewarded. It's not rational."
(He's serious.)
Cold sweat ran down her back.
He was serious. He genuinely intended to push Akane-chan and Takeru-kun together for her sake. Treating love like a matter of numbers. Handling human feelings like some kind of puzzle.
" Please stop."
The voice that came out was so strong it surprised even herself.
"I can't give up on Takeru-kun."
It was the first time.
The first time she'd spoken her true feelings like this in front of someone.
" ...I see."
Yukito looked slightly surprised. But his expression quickly went blank.
"Then let me ask you."
He spoke slowly, as if driving straight to the heart of the matter.
"Do you honestly believe Minamihabara would choose you over Shiina?"
It felt like someone had grabbed her heart directly and squeezed.
No words came out.
"...Huh?"
"It's a matter of probability. What percentage chance do you think there is that Minamihabara would set aside his childhood friend Shiina and choose you?"
His voice was supple and sharp, like a whip.
It pierced precisely into the weakest part of her heart.
"I think it's very low. You know that too, don't you? Deep down."
(That's—)
She knew.
She knew, and that's why it hurt so much.
Beside Takeru-kun, there was Akane-chan. That had been decided long ago—an unshakeable fact that no one could overturn. There was no room anywhere for someone like her to slip in.
"...Even so."
Tears threatened to fall. But she bit her lip and held them back.
"Even so, I..."
"I see."
He let out a sigh.
It wasn't a disappointed sound—more like a flat, matter-of-fact tone that said *just as I calculated*.
"I understand your feelings. But my opinion hasn't changed."
He shifted the paperback under his arm and turned his back.
"Until your feelings change, I'll proceed in my own way. Look forward to it."
"W-wait..."
She tried to call him back, but he didn't turn around.
His long legs carried him toward the staircase without hesitation. The moment he opened the rusted door and stepped through—
" It's only rational."
With those final words, he disappeared from the rooftop.
Left behind, Roboko sank to the ground.
The coldness of the concrete seeped through her skirt.
His words kept spinning around and around in her ears.
—*Do you honestly believe Minamihabara would choose you over Shiina?*
(I do.)
She wanted to say it. But she had no confidence at all.
(I do, but—)
Reality was always cold to her.
Someone like Haruto, declaring he'd "steal her away." Someone like Yukito, pressing her with logic to "give up." Both were firsts for her, and both were terrifying.
But—
" Even so, I still love him..."
When she said it aloud, it trembled like a plea.
The sky beyond the ocean was just beginning to tinge with orange.
Evening would come soon.
That's when her smartphone vibrated inside her uniform pocket.
She flinched and looked at the screen.
*Himura Haruto*
(Haruto-kun.)
Seeing the name on the incoming call screen made her feel like her breath stopped. Her fingers trembled, unable to tap the screen.
The call rang a few times, then ended.
Immediately, it started vibrating again. A second call.
But Roboko couldn't bring herself to answer.
She switched to the home screen and pressed the power button. The screen went dark.
(I'm sorry.)
She didn't even know who she was apologizing to.
She just didn't want to talk to anyone right now.
She hugged her knees and made herself small.
Two completely different approaches.
Haruto said "steal you away." Yukito said "give up."
But her heart simply chased after Takeru-kun. That, at least, would never change.
—*Do you honestly believe Minamihabara would choose you over Shiina?*
Yukito's question remained lodged deep in her heart.
True, the probability was low. She understood that.
" Even so."
She loved him.
Hopelessly.
The rooftop concrete was cold, and the sea breeze
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